


no music (yet you dance)

by The_North_Star



Series: only words (in my head) [1]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Amaya is Asian, F/F, I want belly dancer characters, Janai is North African, LET ME HAVE MY BELLY DANCER ELVES OKAY, Two generals chilling in a dark cave, WHERE WHERE ARE THEY, accidental boob grab, also belly dancing Janai, five feet apart because there might be something there that wasn't there before, i'm very lonely as a geeky cartoon elf-obsessed belly dancer here in Hawaii, movement and rhythm bridge enemies, oh and Amaya in this story does not know Janai is a princess, some cultural stuff, spoiler alert????, who would've thought
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 19:51:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21463606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_North_Star/pseuds/The_North_Star
Summary: (In the same 'verse' as 'only words (in my head)', and is both a continuation chapter-sorta and stand-alone oneshot.  Handspeak, or ASL, will have their interpretations in parentheses)She can't hear, and it turns out the Sunfire elf can't speak.  But they've been trapped in this damn cave long enough to come to a truce of sorts. And there is some common ground to find despite the inability to hear or speak....despite being human and elf.(Rated T for accidental groping)
Relationships: Amaya & Janai (The Dragon Prince), Amaya/Janai (The Dragon Prince)
Series: only words (in my head) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1547209
Comments: 10
Kudos: 152





	no music (yet you dance)

According to the knots she's made in a string wrapped around her wrist, she's been trapped in this cave for 17 days.

It feels like a lifetime.

And the only way she's managed to keep count is with the help of the elf.

Janai. Her name is Janai. She learned this near the end of the second day. 

Night? 

It was before she closed her eyes for the first time since the two of them were trapped in this cave, and she made some quip at the Sunfire elf about thinking of killing her while she slept.

Janai told her that the sun being very far away drained her of energy, and that night was a terrible time to try anything, nevermind trying to kill a woman who could take her in a fight.

Plus, her honor wouldn't allow it.

(And my name is Janai, not 'sunfire elf' or 'you bitch').

(Would 'you glorious bitch' be better?)

(Try that again, and I will kill you in your sleep.)

Ever since, Janai would tell her when the sun was up again, and that marked another day to Amaya.

And by the gods, Janai was proving to be an excellent travel partner when not trying to murder her.

(What is it with you and people being murdered in their sleep, anyway? Is that a common fear of Katolis soldiers?)

(Is it not a fear of yours?)

(Its certainly a better way to go than being left to rot in some foreign place you've never known, not having your body returned to family and loved ones to mourn.)

(You and your elves have done that to my men.)

(You and your men have done that to some of my elves!)

Bickering had been frequent for the first few days for them. But both ladies knew that it wouldn't help them out of this blasted cave.

Amaya decides to look away first. Her head and hands hurt after today's attempts at getting closer to a light they both saw yesterday, a dot that Janai confirmed was sunlight when it disappeared for a few hours then reappeared.

Both of them had stripped off armor, using their hands to pull at any loose rock and using kneeguards as makeshift chisels to dig closer to the light.

And its been working. So far.

Something is always better than nothing.

Both of them rest in the light of the small fire Janai made, watching the flame finish cooking the roots, algae, and fish they'd found for food.

They were lucky. The first two days (day-and-a-half???) had yielded nothing, not even fresh water. Not until Janai heard something that sounded like a creek, and the two of them drank greedily after checking the water was safe.

In their time together, food came from mostly from the cave rivers, but they'd also eaten bats, grubs, bugs, and even a snake that Amaya had spotted slithering toward a sleeping Janai.

(You owe me your life now.)

(Don't be smug), Janai had signed back to her, smoking her portion of the snake meat to a near char.

(It probably wasnt even venomous. I owe you nothing.)

Amaya had gladly eaten the gamey, somewhat rubbery serpent meat with the biggest grin in response.

Janai had made a face, then burst out in what looked like laughter, her expression free of the tension that had colored their time together.

To her horror, Amaya found she liked that expression.

She's been keeping this knowledge lodged deep in her chest ever since.

At least she'd never blurt it out like Callum might.

Oh. Her nephews. 

Gods did she hope they got away safely. The elf girl had been a fierce warrior, and both her nephews had not been harmed while traveling with her. If anyone could gain the trust of an elf, it'd be her nephews, Ezran especially.

(Sorry for punching you in the face, little elf.)

A movement to her left peripheral catches her eye.

(You alright? You've been staring at the same patch of wall for a while. I was afraid you were having a fit.)

Amaya turns to her. (A fit?)

(There are two types, at least among elves. One where you seem to sense nothing; you can't see or hear or feel, and you stare at something thats not tangibly there.  
The other is a little more terrifying; it's everything of the first type but with uncontrollable, sometimes violent shaking and clenching, especially in the hands and mouth. Nothing seems to work except waiting.)

(So seizures.)

Janai's brows draw together, scrutinizing the shapes her hands make when spelling the letters. (Seiiiiiii---zu---resss?)

(Sei-zures.)

Janai mimics her, and when she gets the syllables down she smiles so brightly, equal parts pride and relief.

Amaya shoves down the awe she feels in response.

(Interesting. I think i deserve an extra sip of water. Oh, thank you for getting algae from the creek, by the way. It takes some getting used to, but it's not bad.)

(I grew up with it, my whole family and I. We have paper made out of it, even, and we wrap fish and rice in it before eating.)

(Paper out of algae? Sounds convenient. Do you dry it like we dry our fruit? Must be embarrassing if some gets stuck in your teeth)

(Yes, we press the algae flat and dry, then store. And it would be embarrassing except we don't go baring our teeth at each other like some folks.)

Janai smirks, sharpened teeth glinting in the low light. She gives no further response, instead turning her attention to the fire, pulling closer the pauldrons they've used for plates and evenly separating the food.

Amaya nods in her direction as a silent thanks. 

Soon, too soon, the food is gone. 

Amaya uses a trickle of water and a vine growing out of the wall to scrape down and clean off the makeshift plate, absently tapping her fingernails against the side even after cleaning it.

Movement that usually means the elf wants her attention catches her left peripheral.

(I like the beat. That you're making with the pauldron.)

Amaya is suddenly hyper-aware of the slow 4/4 beat she's making and stops.

(Oh come now, i was starting to get into it.)

Janai gets up, dusting off her trousers and ties her top higher up on her torso so she can see every bit of dark skin and golden markings on her midriff.

By the gods, her body transcends the expectations of a soldier's form. Taut muscle that juts sharply at her waist, firm muscled arms juxtaposed by softly sloping abs glistening with sweat. She somehow has the body of both a warrior and a dancer.

Dare she say it?

Her body is beautiful.

(What? Never seen an elf....well, now i think about, yeah, you've never seen a elf without armor before getting stuck with me. Never seen an elf half naked either, then. Not all of us look like this, though.)

Amaya mentally hits herself for staring like an idiot, and knows she has to sign something so Janai doesnt pick up her lapse of mind.

(You have a navel.)

Janai, confused, quickly glances down, tucking her pelvis in even more as if to double check.

What else could those hips do?

(Yes, yes I do. What? You thought we hatched from eggs or something?)

(Some elves have wings. )

Janai rolls her eyes. (Yes, Skywing elves do, but they're not birds. Elves are not birds.)

(You all have horns, and some elves have wings and sharp teeth. Like dragons.)

She smirks.

(Therefore, eggs.)

The elven general tips her head, resting her fists on her hips. (We are not dragons, we do not hatch from eggs, you foolish human. You're human, which is akin to primates; should i assume you have hair everywhere and beat on your chests to assume dominance?)

Amaya beats a fist on her breast in a mocking fashion. (How do you think I became commander of the Standing Battalion?)

(You stop that.)

(Make me.)

(Play for me, then. On the pauldron. I'll show you something worthy of staring at.)

What to do? She owes her nothing, least not a song.

But she did save her life, got her away from the dragon called Ocean Lord, found her fresh water and ensured it was safe to drink. Helped her keep track of days, helped her catch food, used her fire instead of making Amaya work to ignite tinder for light and cooking. Restrained her to wash her wounds and chewed up herbs and tore her shirt into strips to treat and dress her fractured shoulder.

Shit, she did owe her. Maybe not everything, but....

Her fingernails tap against the pauldron, and Janai smiles.

And she stifles the urge to bask in the metaphorical light of it. 

In the flickering light of the small fire Janai becomes something else.

Someone else.

Her arms rise then gently bend, backs of her wrists touching before scooping downwards and snaking her arms at shoulder level. Sinuous, serpentine, very much like the probably-not-venomous snake she decapitated.

Tracing her hands down the figure of her body, she moves one hand in a circle and her hip follows. The movement repeats on the other side. She allows her eyes to follow the figure-8 path of her hips in time to the rhythm, unbroken by the sudden change in direction that brought the hip down instead of up. 

Her pelvis twirls on an axis, seemingly forming a circle with her hips. Right into the lower muscle in her belly extending outwards, pulling her pelvis forward and rolling the energy up her body in a movement so fluid she has to force her eyes down for a moment at her tapping fingers.

Can't be distracted by anything, not even a beautiful Sunfire elf dancing with her belly exposed.

She blinks, returning her gaze in time to catch Janai jutting out her chest in a circle before dropping it back into her ribcage. Repeatedly.

Rolling her body, chest to hips, Amaya sees one secret to her dancing, particularly keeping movement isolated to one part of her body. Her knees are bent slightly, which would keep things like hip moves centralized to just her hips. 

But it would be easy to hide, or at least distract from, the mechanizations of the movement with the way her eyes glow.

Which is enough to catch her off guard as a large circle made by her hips rotates her body into the sudden twisting of her hips.  
Amaya notes that Janai likes to dance slow and break the monotony of the svelte movements by unexpectedly turning, or circling, or body rolling herself into a fast movement. Like the quick shimmies of her surprisingly narrow shoulders. 

Well, more narrow than she expected.

The turn she does while her shoulders shimmy brings her close enough to her sitting, close enough that if Amaya were to be pushed forward Janai could capture her head between her powerful thighs.

The Sunfire elf chooses that specific moment to undulate her body down, and Amaya grits her teeth as Janai's hips roll a small distance from her face. 

And she continues to undulate her whole body down on rocking steps that alternate between putting her on her sole and putting her on her toes. She uses this movement to travel back a bit, then does another one of her calibrated turns.

But the elf hasn't backed off far enough, and the tips of her hair plaits brush across her face lightly, almost like butterfly wings.

It's enough to cause her to falter, and before Janai turns around again to look at her she already knows she's messed up the cadence. In response to her confusion, Amaya shakes her head slightly.

(Sorry. Didn't mean to mess up the rhythm.)

Janai lifts her arms, but this time to stretch, then brings her hands back to chest level. (Don't worry, that was still a good chunk of time for a dance. Excellent pace, too. I didn't expect such skill. Thank you for playing for me.)

(My pleasure), Amaya signs before fully realizing the implications of that statement.

If Janai notices, she gives no immediate response, merely untying her top so the tatters cover her belly again. (How was it?)

(Your dancing?)

(Yes. There are other Sunfires who dance far better than I. And I didn't have the training or upbringing that some Sunfire dancers do; my sister and I were heavily discouraged from learning chaabi and char-qi.)

(Why?)

At this, Janai falls silent and her face sets like stone, and Amaya wonders if she hit a sore spot in the elf's emotional shield. 

But the Sunfire elf merely shakes her head and rolls her eyes like someone listening to a nagging relative in the middle of nagging.  
(An upbringing thing. Our family felt the dance form was beneath us, and pushed us towards 'less foolish, more dignified' studies like swordfighting and history. But we would sneak off, particularly with elves from other tribes, under the pretense of strengthening relations and things of that nature.)

(Good.) And Amaya means it. (Sisters are not meant to stay in dresses and stay indoors all the time and be forced to. Unless you're royalty. And even then, royals are people.)

The general lowers the pauldron down into her lap, looking at the vague reflection in the somewhat-cleaned surface. (Royals have the worst lives, I think. Or, the most restrictive, I should say. So many responsibilities, duties, burdens....is it worth the wealth and crowns and fancy titles and being forced to marry someone who doesn't care for you? Not worth it, I think. King Harrow was very fortunate to have my sister.)

She looks up to the Sunfire elf, an unreadable expression in her face which was suddenly closer than she remembered her being. There is just enough space between their faces to allow for hands to move about.

(Was he good to her? And to their children? I know that he was the one who killed Avizandum, but was he as foul and heartless to his family as he was to the Dragons? My people can spin some wild rumors, and I am not one to believe paltry, sensational stories.)

Amaya allows just the barest shadow of a smile both protective and proud. (No. Know that he had the heart; he was the best husband to my sister, and the best father to both their children, and the most honorable and kind ruler of our people.)

At the change in Janai's expression, at the downward fold of her mouth and the wrinkle of her brow, she allows herself some anger. (He placed himself in the greatest danger a king can face, and gave up his life to protect what remained of his family.)

Janai looks down at her hands, hands that folded and curled like tendrils of fire just moments ago. 

(Why? What does that information provide for you?)

(I don't know. I'm familiar enough with royals and nobles, being the Golden Knight, and that privilege sometimes turns elves into outright monsters. Not the monsters humans have been told about. I....suppose I want to know how much elves and humans have in common.)

Keeping her eyes on Janai's hands to understand her fully meant looking at her mouth as well, and her gaze was level with her mouth, which was full and framed by those golden lines.  
(Wouldn't that be considered treasonous by some? To see if there are similarities?)

(Aren't your nephews and a young Moonshadow accompanying the Dragon Prince to Zubeia, his mother? If they haven't separated by now or tried to kill each other, there is enough in common for them to work together. And now there's us.)

(There is no 'us', just 'you' and 'me.' Elf and human.)

(Yes, but we're both Generals stuck in this cave. We've survived on our own and are almost free, and it's because both of 'us' chose to work together instead of fight. If the return of the Prince to the Queen means an end to this war, we'll need to start liking each other. Or at least have some respect for each other.)

Amaya looks down at the pauldron once more, and sees that the reflection of the top part of her face is now accompanied by a familiar pair of horns, a crown of thick beautiful plaits, and eyes that seem to always be glowing.

She looks back up. (Well. Don't tell anyone else, but you have my respect.) 

Amaya reflexively brings her fist up to her chest as a confirmation of truth, but with the closeness she accidentally hits Janai in her chest.

(I'm sorry!) She quickly signs, bringing her other hand to cup around the area she hit. It'd be funny if the Sunfire elf didn't look so shocked. (I'm sorry, did I hurt you?)

She doesn't move her hands to respond but does look down at where Amaya is touching her.

With one pale hand gently cupped around her breast. 

Time slows in this already suspended space, and Amaya has never felt more mortified in her life than in this moment.

Janai, breathing through the initial shock, finally manages to move her hands.

(No, I'm not hurt. I've dealt worse. You've done worse, remember?)

Amaya immediately removes her hand. (I am genuinely sorry for that, I swear. I didn't mean to accidentally grope. Like I said, I respect you. And even when I didn't, I still wouldn't have done that.)

A humored smile curls in umber lips. (So you meant to kill me every time we'd clash at the Breach, but not to grope me? Actually, that's very honorable. I respect that.)

(You have a literal burning sword that can cut through most other swords, and you'd try to hit me with it. I'd say trying to kill you in order not to die is only fair.) 

Amaya gladly returns the smirk and the snark. (But I was raised better than that, and I assume you were raised better than that, and I was taught never to grope anyone, even an elf. So there. I am sorry.)

(Don't worry. You have my respect.)

The smile that accompanies the elf's fist press to her chest is warm. As warm as her heat-being mode, as warm as her----

\----no. NO.

She does have enough of a mind to return the smile, then looks over at the pile of rocks blocking their way out. The hole they've opened up is large enough to fit their heads through. Widen the hole just enough for their shoulders, and they'd be out.

Janai waves her hand for her attention.

(Soon, General, soon), she signs. (For now, we sleep. Tomorrow might be the day we can feel the sunlight again.)

She nods her head. (I agree. Tonight was a lot. Let's rest up for tomorrow.)

The two of them turn to prepare for the night, Amaya using a makeshift broom made of a pole with brush-like pods tied to it, 'sweeping' away pebbles and rocks under their cloak-beds while Janai wraps her hair up. She then does the same for her sleeping area while Amaya checks her shoulder wound, cleans it, and changes the bandages. 

As they settle in and Janai starts to lower the heat of the fire to active coals that can be ignited again, Amaya motions for her to pause.

(What?)

The human general takes a deep breath and exhales. (Your dancing. You asked what I thought of it. Not that it matters, me being a human that, y'know, has tried to kill you several times, amongst other things...)

Janai scoffs in response but the smirk remains.

(...but it reminds me of Kha-li-gi dances I've seen back in my city, near Neolandia. Different, but there's a lot of similar movements, belts around the hips, things like that. And I'm not much of a dancer so how much of my opinion matters is up to you...but it was beautiful.)

And there it goes, replaced by something else. Her liquid-fire eyes widen and her shoulders relax, almost as if she'd been tensing herself up.

(Your dancing was---is---beautiful, it really is. You're made of fire but move like water. Like lava! The dance suits you. Hold on to it as long as you can.)

Janai's face is still soft as she signs briefly. 

(I will. I appreciate it. Thank you, Amaya.)

(You're welcome, Janai.)

As the fire recedes into the embers and they lay themselves down, Amaya can see the remaining light outlining the feminine curve of her waist.

A deep sigh, then she turns on her makeshift bed and allows sleep to capture her. And prays to the gods that she forgets the loud and fast rhythm she felt beneath Janai's breast.

A disturbingly human-like heartbeat.

END

**Author's Note:**

> Some notes for odd terms I've pulled from real life and basically injected them into the lore of this verse. most are bellydancing stuff, surprise, surprise:
> 
> -Chaabi - from Egyptian 'Shaabi', meaning “of people” and represents the culture, voice and spirit of the people. While this dance has some similarities to Middle Eastern belly dance movements, Shaabi is decidedly African.
> 
> -Char-qi - from Arabic 'Sharqui/Sharqi', which literally means "Dance of the Orient". It is this that people of the Middle Eastern/Arabic Peninsula use to name their dance form. 
> 
> -Kha-li-gi - from Arabic 'Khaleegy/Khaleegi/Khaleeji/Khaliji', all meaning "gulf", as in the Arabian Gulf. It is very different from the Egyptian Shaabi and Saidi dances, and Arabic Sharqui, in costuming, in feeling and in movement. The dance also features lots of spins, chest drops and tossing of long unbound hair from side-to-side.
> 
> -The beat Amaya plays for Janai is a slow 4/4 beat called Maksum/Maqsoum. It is a standard Arabic beat and a basic for all Middle Eastern/North African drummers, and is considered a must-know (among like 20 -30 other different rhythms) for any serious drummers that want to play for dancers.
> 
> -Nori wraps exist in Xadia, yeee
> 
> -oh, i mentioned this in the tags but Amaya, as of this story in this verse, does not know Janai is a princess. Is that a spoiler? Oops...
> 
> Uh, if there's anything else you need clarification on, please let me know. Thank you for reading and leaving kudos, I appreciate it greatly!


End file.
